Sunday Morning Science: What I’m Reading

A note on Sunday mornings: during my undergrad, briefly, someone ran a Sunday morning science discussion group. My friend S. and I would turn up, gigantic mugs of tea in hand, to talk about designer babies, or genetically modified food, for an hour or so, then we’d all go and have a full English brunch. S. and I were the only ones who ever brought our own caffeine… I wonder what the others thought about that. Anyway, I like the idea of Sunday mornings as a time to reflect on scientific happenings, so here’s my round-up of things I’ve found interesting and worth a read this week.

The anatomy of successful computational biology software – interviews with authors of widely-used tools.

How to make scientific software sustainable. With a The Princess Bride reference!

For cat people, see through your pet’s eyes. I wonder if the differences in colour vision help cats to see their prey?

Gross but cool: think you have a nematode infection in your mouth, but your doctor doesn’t believe you? Why not pull it out yourself and do a genetic analysis? Not to mention take pictures and show all your colleagues.

It’s impossible to ignore the sexual harrassment revelations that have occurred this week, and I likeĀ  this post by Jason Thibault as an overview and timeline, with links to many of the original posts. It’s also interesting to compare the reaction of the atheism/secularism community. I had no idea it was possible to have a “pro-harrassment” faction! :/ One post that isn’t linked there, that I think is important, is this post by Janet Stemwedel. Read this if you’re wondering why the women involved didn’t report events immediately. (I also like her blog in general)

I’d also like to add a link to DNLee’s original post on The Urban Scientist, as with everything that’s happened since I think it’s important to remember the events that spurred Monica Byrne to come forward. Seeing one person be brave can help others find their courage.

And finally, to make the wet lab biologist in you smile: That’s not how you pipette!

— Bob

(yesss, I got this posted while it’s still morning here!)